Mac Pro versus IMac for a print graphic designer

I use CS 5.5 Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat along with Excel and Word all open at once. I find that every 3 years I have to get  anew computer. I'm in the market again and owndering if I should spend the extra for a Mac Pro or if I should get a 16 GB Imac? Any advice greatly appreciated.

A Mac Pro you won't outgrown like you do with laptop and iMacs.
People are still going strong on 2006 models; some have replaced processors, RAM and hard drives are normal and easy as is an upgrade to video cards. And you have access with 2009 and later model with 64GB RAM
Recommendation for 24-48GB RAM:
http://www.macperformanceguide.com - check topics and look for memory and CS5 there are tips and info on MacBook Pro too which are - when new and for the moment, fully capable for many as the late 2011s - but by the end of the year there will be new processors from Intel across the board and make the next line of macbooks and others more performance.

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  • New Mac Pro vs iMac for 3D/Gaming/Development

    I have a dilema
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    I am a 3D Artist and a Programmer and a game player.   For 3D I use 3D Studio Max and VRay which is a realtime renderer (which I use to speed up visual workflow before rendering to the CPU) and this makes use of GPU Rendering, specifically CUDA but OpenCL is also supported in later versions,  Unfortunatly Shader Units on AMD cards seem to run at half the speed of NVidia CUDA cores from reading various sources on the web.  So thats a negative against the Mac Pro (Boot camped into windows of course)
    The programmer side of me writes iOS Apps and OSX apps so any Mac will do here.
    The gamer side of me plays cutting edge titles like the upcoming Call of Duty Ghosts.
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    From a 3D Artist perspective, this review helped me understand quite a bit regarding the technology behind OpenCL with NVidia vs OpenCL with AMD and the New Mac Pro
    http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-06/13/mac-pro-overview
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  • Mac Pro versus iMac

    Hi I would like to buy a Mac for running number crunching programs as well as running graphics programs for manipulating 3-D models of biological molecules. I'm trying to decide between:
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    2) iMac: 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme, 2GB memory, 500GB hard drive1, 8x double-layer SuperDrive, ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
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  • Connecting mac pro to Imac for screen share.

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    See if there is anything in this Link...
    Using 27” iMac as External Display
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3924?viewlocale=en_US

  • Macbook Pro vs iMac for video production

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    Then I started wondering... is this the best option? Is there a better iMac option for the same price? Portability is not an issue.
    Any help from people in the know very much appreciated!
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    Video editing is best with the best/fastest processor you can afford and loads of RAM - 32 GB - (which you can install yourself later at a much lower price), so you can compare the machines you are considering to see what the benchmarks are (google benchmark tests). Remember though: even a Mac Pro will still take time - video editing/rendering is a massive processor intensive task - it will not be instantaneous.  If you are into heavy editing, etc I would seriously consider a Mac Pro.
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  • If I buy the Mac pro and iMac combine it together would it be faster?

    If I buy the Mac pro and iMac combine it together would it be faster or I just buy the mac pro and Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch)?

    If you buy a Mac Pro 2013, use the iMac for casual stuff and use the Mac Pro for media creation work.
    Maxed out iMac with 4-core 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD PCIe is nice.
    Mac Pro with 6-core 64GB dual graphics for $1000 more might run rings around it.
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  • Mac Pro vs iMac

    Yesterday, talking with a couple of Pi memebers, one remarked that they were
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    My friend, like me who do a lot of video stuff, reacted -- 'Why would you even
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    Can anyone offer any insights, or point me to a site the offers comparisons (I
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    Thanks,
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    I intend to wait at least until Leopard emerges from the shadows to purchase my first Mac. But until that moment in time arrives, there is not a single day that goes by where I do not mentally review many of the Mac products...periodically going back and forth between the lower-cost systems and the higher-cost ones.
    Like you, I recently (over the last few days) began leaning towards the iMac instead of the Mac Pro Quad-Core product that initially captivated my consumer interest. I am primarily music-oriented (Logic Studio will be my first add-on software product) but I also have an interest in getting into video-production later on down the road perhaps initially as an amateur hobbyist but without ruling out future career possibilities in that field. But cost-wise, when I saved my shopping cart at apple.com that had a maxed-out (beefed-up) iMac and compared it to my previously-saved cart with the 3.0GHz Quad-Core Mac Pro, there was not that big of a price difference between the two (as long as I did not get carried away with filling each Mac Pro hard drive bay with 750 GB HD'S). I am referring to a difference here of around $1000 to $1500 depending mainly on my selection of hard drives (how many and what sizes). 4 GB of RAM was a minimum for both carts but have you noticed how much more they charge to upgrade RAM for an iMAC ($700 to go from 2 GB to 4 GB on an iMAC compared to $699 to go from 1 GB to 4 GB of RAM on a Mac Pro)? And I could be wrong but I think that lots of RAM would be helpful when it comes to digitally editing video whether one is a pro or not.
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    Rumor has it that Benjamin Franklin would make a written list of all the pro's and con's affiliated with different decisions he needed to make. I have not done this yet but this might be a good way to see in black and white before my very eyes all of the positives and negatives affiliated with each of the Mac products I am presently considering to purchase. By negative, I mean things like "more expensive"..."not expandable"...etc. Oh yeah. I almost forgot to mention (if I am remembering correctly) that he would count up the number of pro's and con's (pluses and minuses) and then use that data to assist him in reaching a final decision.
    When all is said and done for me, I shall most likely choose to invest in the latest technology that I won't need to upgrade at least for three years (when my Mac Pro extended warranty expires). But like I said at the beginning, I do find myself being tossed about daily upon the dreaded sea of indecision.
    So, here are my suggestions to you:
    1) Try saving different shopping carts with different products to make it easier for you to see how much you will save between your choices and then compare what those price differences mean as far as what you are getting for your money.
    2) Continue to ask around as you are doing here to get input from others to assist you in your personal evaluation process. Also, do your own independent research online since many helpful articles are only one google-click away.
    3) Remember not to be solely influenced by the numbers (tech specs) that are displayed by each product. Unlike the Xeon 5100 "Woodcrest" or quad-core 5300 "Clovertown" processors used in the Mac Pro, iMACs use a:
    "2.0GHz or 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, or 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme processor".
    This is not to say they (the Core 2 Duo processors) are not good, but it would be both reasonable and fair to say that they are different from what the Mac Pro uses and IMHO based on all that I have learned so far, the quad-core Xeon 5300 Series "Clovertown" processors are the best I could ever hope to have at my personal disposal when typing various commands for them to faithfully follow and expeditiously execute.
    But I do stress this final point about the different processors being used (if not the main point of my response to your posting) only because early on in my preliminary research, I did not even realize that there are different types of processors being used in the different categories of Mac products currently on the market.
    If I knew more about cars, I would use an engine analogy here but I am not mechanically inclined so I won't even try. Instead I would simply say that I do not want my spontaneous creativity to be hindered by technology that lags behind me.
    Be of good cheer for Leopard should soon appear sometime this year although the exact day remains rather unclear!

  • Mac Pro or Imac, help please

    Hi,
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    Best regards

    Lando1 wrote:
    Hi,
    I currently have the G4 1GHZ Dual w/ 2 gigs of ram, radeon 9800 and the 23" ACD. I'm thinking about upgrading my system so I'm in between the 24" imac (the white one, new for $1649) or the mac pro 2.0GHZ for $200 more (the refurbished from the Apple store). I'll be using CS3, Lightroom and Ilife 08 mostly.
    Best regards
    By the sound of it, you can go well with either the newer iMac or a MacPro, but do you really need the extra power? It depends totally on your use of the system. Currently, the 24" iMac configuration should decent with CS3 and iLife. I used the version of iLife before 08 version and it performed at an acceptable rate (using an old eMac).. however, if you are going to switch in between the many applications and is going to really push the limit (having many images open or really BIG images) then you might consider getting a Mac Pro, which is decent at the cost of $200 more. I am aware that there are certain tools that will log your activity (memory usage etc.) is available out there, and I suggest you use the log if ever, to base if you are to get a macpro or an imac..
    Message was edited by: yappledapple

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    FGNWDesignDiva wrote:
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  • Mac Pro v iMac v High-end pc

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